Our Planet is drowning in plastic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo5SsRuoVa0

The number of plastic pieces thrown in rivers and seas is astonishingly rising, and that brings serious consequences.

Here is the English version of Patricia Wieland's report for the Brazilian web channel VisãoTV. Her video youtube.com/watch?v=Mo5SsRuoVa0 tackles the problem of plastic pollution in oceans and the environment in general. How we got to this point and what we can do to prevent an even greater disaster.

"Nobody thinks that the River Thames in England is clean, but it sure looks better than a few years ago. But many microscopic contaminants are there and in increasing quantities. Today we are going to talk about plastic pollution.

A study carried out by the Royal Holloway University in conjunction with the Museum of Natural History and the London Zoological Society found out that there are up to 94,000 microplastics flowing downstream every second.

In the Putney region, a concentration of 24.8 microplastics per cubic meter was detected. This level places the Thames in a worse situation than the Danube, the Rhine, or the Chicago River.

Microplastics have been found in the stomach of at least nine fish species that live on the Thames. Food packaging seems to be the main culprit. The study showed that almost 94% of the microplastics found were from films used to seal packaging and other fragments.

But what are microplastics?

A widely used definition describes plastic particles smaller than 5 mm in length and larger than 1 micron, that is a thousandth of one millimeter. They come from plastics that do not degrade but are broken down more and more into even smaller particles.

But where do plastics come from?

A study recently carried out by Greenpeace shows that 114 billion disposable plastic items pass through supermarkets in the UK each year. That is double previous estimates.

And that includes 17.7 billion packages for fruits, vegetables, and salads, in addition to almost 9 billion bottles, lids, seals, and labels for milk.

One of the recycling challenges is when the packaging is made of different types of materials. This one, for example, of potato chips, has a metal base, the cardboard part is covered with an aluminum foil, the plastic cover, another sheet, and an aluminum foil. Several compositions make recycling almost impossible. A comprehensive study of alternatives to stop ocean pollution by plastics predicts that the number of plastics dumped into the ocean will triple by 2040, from 11 million to 29 million tons a year, if the problem is not addressed.

Smuggling waste into other countries

The situation becomes even more serious as international smuggling of huge amounts of plastics was discovered. The report, entitled “INTERPOL's strategic analysis of emerging criminal trends in the global plastic waste market since January 2018”, indicates that there has been a considerable increase in illegal waste shipments, mainly redirected to Southeast Asia through various transit countries to camouflage the origin of the waste shipment. Based on open sources and criminal intelligence from 40 countries, the report provides a global picture of trafficking routes and criminal threats in the plastic waste market and recommends enforcement actions. Smuggling has grown because in many countries the import of garbage has become banned or has been severely hampered.

The consequences of plastic pollution

As the world struggles with climate change, the oil industry sees its inevitable decline. Profits are plummeting amid the coronavirus pandemic, and the industry fears that climate change will force the world to stop burning fossil fuels even more quickly. Plastic is derived from petroleum, which is made up of a mixture of organic compounds, mainly hydrocarbons.

Plastic waste causes a multitude of problems when it leaks into the environment. Pieces of plastic can block waterways and aggravate natural disasters, clogging sewers and creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes and pests that can be vectors of disease transmission. High concentrations of plastic have been found blocking the airways and stomachs of hundreds of species. Plastics are often eaten by turtles and dolphins that mistake them for food. There is evidence that toxic chemicals added during the manufacture of plastic may eventually enter the human food chain. Toxins in styrofoam containers can contaminate food and drinks. In many countries, plastic waste is often burned for elimination, exposing people to toxic substances.

The roadmap to reduce the use of plastic

There are more than enough economic, health, and environmental reasons to act promptly against plastic pollution. UNEP proposed a 10-step roadmap for policymakers to reduce the use of plastic. Currently, there is no excuse for not knowing what to do to contain plastic pollution.

About 80 percent of plastic pollution could be avoided by replacing inadequate regulation, changing business models, and introducing incentives to reduce plastic production, such as improving packaging design.

The removal of microplastics from water is a challenge, which requires technological research, and the implementation of the solution will not be in the short term. The important thing then is to prevent plastics from reaching rivers and seas. Unilever has pledged to halve the use of virgin plastic and collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells by 2025. Dell Technologies intends to process plastics collected from beaches, rivers, and coastal areas and use them in packaging.

Finally, it is expected that many other companies will also make plastic reduction a key element of their sustainability programs."